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Nosy Beauty Vol. 20: Kine

Published by Carina

Time for another edition Nosy Beauty, which is my ongoing series of Makeup Bags I Look Into. 🙂 Today’s ~~victim~~ subject is Kine of Kim Kine. I met her through bntgirls, as she is part of my batch as well. 🙂

Hi everyone, my name is Kimberley but on the internet I go by Kine. I’m a full time (5 days a week!) university student studying to be a Doctor of Chiropractic and I also work part time as a receptionist. Some fun facts- I have a few beauty pageant titles under my belt, a blue belt black tip in karate and 57 trophies won from dancing competitions. In my little spare time I pursue my many varied interests, some of these include fantasy books, Les Miserables the musical, documentaries, lactose and gluten free cooking and of course, blogging! My blog is a mish mash of life snippets, I blog about anything and everything that takes my fancy.

My interest in beauty started when I was around 12 years old when I was a competitive dancer. I did my make up myself and rather enjoyed piling on purple eye shadow up to my eyebrows and pairing it with bright red lipstick- that was the definition of ‘stage’ make up back then! When I went to school in Singapore, make up was not allowed, yet I would still find ways around it- a hint of powder here and there, some tightlining and barely there mascara boosted my confidence.

This is my make up pouch gifted from my Mum, I love it and think it’s so unique and pretty. I simply do not have the time or patience to touch up my eye makeup when I’m out, hence the sparse contents.

These are products that I use on a daily basis and I have repurchased everything seen here and am bringing all of these items on holiday in a week’s time!

Missha Perfect Cover BB cream in #27 — My Holy Grail base product as it the only BB cream that matches my tanned skin. Not to mention the perfect dewy coverage it gives, I have repurchased this at least 4 times.

Urban Decay Naked Palette — I use this on a daily basis. My favourite colors are Half baked and Smog.

NYX Full coverage concealer — it’s cheap, creamy and conceals!

Sleek Blush by 3 palette and contour kit — these are great for travel.

Maybelline Colossal Volume Express in Waterproof — my Holy Grail mascara. It picks up eyelashes I didn’t know I had and most importantly, keeps my curl.

Shu Uemura eyelash curler

Australis Mineral Inject lipgloss in Moonwalk — a shimmery nude shade that goes with everything.

Eyeliners and eyebrow products come and go, as long as they stay don’t smudge, then I’m ok with them.

Za Two Way Powder Foundation — I have been using this for 6 years or so and stock up every time I go back to Singapore. I use it over my BB cream if I want a matte look, I love the coverage and finish, plus it’s fairly cheap!

Australis Mineral Inject Lipgloss in Moonwalk and Lipstick in Mambo — I use the two of these together for the perfect rock n roll nude lip which looks great with smokey eyes.

Australis Mineral Inject Lipstick in Jive and Lipgloss in Disco — I use these together to make a sweet babydoll pink lip.

I use makeup to express how I feel that day, but always keep it appropriate to the situation. For university days I will go with a fresh, dewy K beauty look. I use dinners, events and parties to experiment with fun colors on my eyes and lips.

Of course, fashion plays an integral part of how I do my makeup that day, I blog about that too (surprise surprise!). I find beauty in many things- earl grey tea on a winter morning, a really good morsel of sushi, my sister’s laugh and even dilapidated buildings. Everyone’s perception of beauty is different, I’ve had some struggles but I genuinely believe you cannot be happy unless you are true to yourself in all aspects of life, apologies for the giant cliche. Outer beauty fades, but inner beauty is forever.

I will be embarking on a volunteer trip to Nepal next week to refurbish a village school and then travelling to Japan for a ski holiday! Feel free to follow my journey.

You can find me on Instagram: @kim_kine or at Kim Kine.

•

Thank you so much, Kine! 🙂 Here’s a sneak peek of next week’s installment:

Can you guess whose bag it is? 🙂 For more Nosy Beauty, click here.

Swatchfest: My First Oslo Cosmetics Order

Published by Carina

I think you guys no by now how easily swayed I am if something is named in the best way. I get suckered in and then I find myself in another point of no return. In any case, I saw an eyeshadow by Oslo Cosmetics named “Carinae,” which was an area of Ancient Rome. It was close enough to my name, so of course, I had to go look… and then I found an ultra bright orange blush named “Carina.” And then I died and bought makeup.

There’s really something about mineral makeup. I just can’t help myself. Everything’s so pretty. Oslo Cosmetics pigments and eyeshadows are lumpy-looking because the formulation is a bit different from regular loose eye shadows. The creator, Joyce K., mixes in some binders that allow the shadows to adhere well to your skin (which explains also the lack of sifters. I’d like to see you try and sift these powders). You COULD use a primer, but these are pretty awesome at staying put already. Extensive FAQ here.

My initial order was comprised of Carina, a bunch of loose colors and the Dark Days Collection, which had two matte velvet cream bases (basically cream shadows). They were out of stock, though, so Joyce asked me to pick two other singles, and I settled with one called Orphicus and another called… A Song of Ice and Fire! From their Game of Thrones collection. 😀 I also received (some gold leaf ♥ and) Noctem, which was part of their Halloween collection, gratis.

Here are some swatches:

L-R: Carina (unblended), Carina (blended), Carinae, Orphicus, A Song of Ice and Fire, Pyxis, Ara, Doradus, Noctem, Vela, Equinox, Lyra

Pyxis, Ara, and Doradus are from the Dark Days Collection. Orphicus and Vela are from the Rome Collection. Carinae is from the Colossus Collection. A Song of Ice and Fire is from the Game of Thrones Collection. Lyra is from the Starlight Collection. Noctem is from the Sepulchrum Halloween Collection. Equinox is the limited edition shade for November. Carina is from the Cosmic Blush Collection.

L-R: Carina (unblended), Carina (blended), Carinae, Orphicus, A Song of Ice and Fire, Pyxis, Ara, Doradus, Noctem, Vela, Equinox, Lyra

Here are the official color descriptions:

Carina: Bright, cosmic matte red-orange blush
Carinae: Beautiful, shimmery/metallic peach-pink, with light green/gold shift
Orphicus: Dark, shimmery deep forest green
A Song of Ice and Fire: Deep smoldering metallic plum with tiny lavender-blue sparkles
Pyxis: Light iridescent duochrome pink-violet
Ara: Dark, sultry shimmery brassy red
Doradus: Shimmery blush-brown-violet with slight duochrome glitter
Noctem: no longer on the site, but it’s a matte black with red-orange sparks
Vela: Soft satin mid tone brown with slight color green duochrome shift
Equinox: Shimmery duochrome golden bronze-brown with violet-lavender sparkles and glitters
Lyra: Smoldering, shimmery plum with duochrome glitter particles.

All the swatches, except for Noctem, are made with one swipe on unprimed skin.

Time for some close-ups!

For complex shades with extra sparks and shimmers, I like doing fuzzy swatches (à la Kate of Drivel About Frivol) so you can see the sparks better:

These were very, very creamy and pigmented. It was kind of insane. I can’t wait to use them!

What do you say? Time for another Mineral Makeup Challenge?

Oslo Cosmetics is vegan and cruelty-free.

Le Métier de Beauté True Colour Eye Shadows in Corinthian, Midnight Sky & Noir

Published by Carina

Here is a trio of proof of my weak moment: Le Métier de Beauté True Colour Eye Shadows in Corinthian, Midnight Sky and Noir. I’ve been looking for Corinthian for a loooong time, but it’s always on backorder at their online sellers, so that never happened. It’s a very lovely shimmery taupe that seems to lean a little rosy, at least to me.

Here is Corinthian by itself + liquid liner + mascara:

P.S. My bangs are the worst right now.

Corinthian has been one of the most popular shades in Le Métier de Beauté’s eyeshadow line. It’s a beautiful taupe that’s quite easy to wear, suits a lot of skintones, and is just all-around gorgeous. It’s one of those perfect shades for a one-shadow eye look.

Excuse the general messiness of the area (and myself haha), but here’s a Photobooth picture I took that, I feel, demonstrates how pretty Corinthian is.

It’s super pigmented and easy to blend, like you would expect from Le Métier de Beauté. No wonder it’s such a popular shade and always, frustratingly, out of stock.

Here is Midnight Sky used as a liner. It’s a deep, sparkling Sapphire blue that’s perfect to switch out your standard black with.

It’s a gorgeous, jewel-toned blue that I would happily wear despite my apprehension with blue eyeshadow.

I think it’s pretty obvious from the swatches above that Noir isn’t that pigmented. I’m still unsure if I’m disappointed with it, since it’s so sheer—unlike most Le Métier de Beaute eyeshadows—but the upside is that you don’t over apply black eyeshadow when you are trying to deepen an eye look.

So, I decided to show you guys how to use all three to create a pretty, atypical smoky eye using a taupe, a sapphire blue, and a black.

I think it turned out quite nicely, but maybe that’s just me. LOL.

I applied Corinthian on the inner two-thirds, Midnight Sky on the outer third, then smoked it out using Noir on the upper lash line. For the lower lash line, I applied Noir on the outer third, smudged with Midnight Sky on the middle of the lower lash line and a bit also on top of Noir on the outer third. On the inner third, I put in a bit of Corinthian. I used a bit of black liner and mascara to define the look, too.

On the cheeks, I have Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Exposed and the Tarte Amazonian Clay Matte and Waterproof Bronzer in Park Avenue Princess. On the lips, I have a nude gloss.

Anyway. All in all, I love these shadows. Prior to the singles (I started with just one—Alexandrite), I had a couple of Kaleidoscopes and a Spring palette, but it’s nice to explore more from the brand. As you know, I’m a big fan of the formulation of the LMdB eyeshadows, but even then, the price is a bit hard to swallow. It’s a bit more expensive ($30. Each.) than a lot of brands, but the pans are seriously huge. Here’s a photo of it beside singles from shu uemura, MAC, and Rouge Bunny Rouge:

MAC singles contain 1.5 g of product, RBR has 2g, shu uemura has 1.4g and Le Métier de Beauté singles contain a whopping 3.8 g. So, it’s a great thing to purchase if you are trying to build a well of reliable colors to use everyday and forever. Because 3.8 g is a lot of product.

If I were to start over my makeup “collection” (CRINGE), I think I would have liked to invest in Le Métier de Beauté instead of hopping from one brand to another. Even though I love most of what I’ve acquired so far, like 90% I am truly happy with, these shadows are just top notch and I would be just as happy if I had half the amount of products I had and owned an abundance of these eyeshadows instead. They’ve made one of my favorite formulas, and the best thing is that the company is small and cruelty-free.

FOTD: Golden Brown and Toasted

Published by Carina

Today’s post is just a quick Face of the Day featuring the Urban Decay Naked Palette. After deciding not to purchase the Naked 3 (for now, for hoarding avoidance), I picked up the original Naked Palette and decided to play around with it. Sometimes, I find it absolutely genius. Other times, I find it quite uninspiring. I think this is a great natural look, though I do find that some of the Naked shadows to be a bit too frosty for my liking.

I used the Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bad to the Bronze as a base. I applied it with my finger all over my mobile lid, blended upward around the crease. I used Buck as a transition shade (applied on crease and blended out), patted on Dark Horse on the outer third and blended into Smog which I patted on the inner half. My inner corner highlight is Sin. On my lower lash line, I smudged on Dark Horse (outer half) and Toasted (inner half).

For definition, I added Rimmel ScandalEyes Waterproof Kohl in Black on the outer half of the upper and lower lash line. I curled my lashes but did not add mascara.

For the rest of my face, I used The Body Shop Tea Tree Pore Minimiser and bareMinerals Original Foundation in Medium Beige as my base. I applied Tom Ford Cheek Color in Wicked high up along my cheekbone and contoured (subtly!) with NYX Powder Blush in Raisin. On my lips, a favorite—NARS Sheer Lipstick in Pago Pago. It’s a beautiful color but far too shimmery for my liking. And, finally, on my brows, I have K-Palette Real Lasting Eyebrow 24H in 01.

Hope you enjoyed this post. 🙂 Sorry it’s so short, I’ve been a bit swamped with work. I hope you’re all having a great week so far!

Revlon Beauty S.O.S. on ETC’s Etcetera

Published by Carina

Hey everyone! Remember Revlon’s Beauty S.O.S.? The last segment aired earlier this week, which was all about transforming an Office Day Look to a Night Look. The hero of these common beauty dilemmas is Makeup Artist and Expert, Eman De Leon. With the help of Revlon, of course!

Here is host, Patti Grandidge, with the makeup as well as a “Before” photo of the model.

Applying the makeup, and… presto! A more dramatic, party-ready look!

Aside from doing the makeup of the model, Eman also Patti Grandidge’s makeup:

Some additional tips from Etcetera’s blog:

Red Lips – a rouge pucker is timeless for a reason. Not only does red evoke warmth, but it’s pretty much the colour of Christmas. Most importantly, everybody looks great in red lips!
Metallic Eyes – anything shiny and shimmery always reminds us of Christmas, so why not have your peepers join the fun?
Cat Eye – no, really! The Cat Eye is never going on holiday, even during the holidays! And just like red lips, it looks great on pretty much anyone. No wonder it’s universally loved!

Thanks to ETC, Etcetera, and makeup artist and expert Eman De Leon for all these fabulous tips! For more makeup matters, follow Eman De Leon on Instagram and Twitter (@EmanDeLeon), his Facebook Page, MakeUp ala Drama Queen.

If you missed the last two segments, Makeup for Girls with Glasses and Makeup for Morenas, click the cut below for a recap and some more tips!

Le Métier de Beauté Hydra-Crème Lipsticks

Published by Carina

A few months ago, Le Métier de Beauté launched their new lipstick range, the Hydra-Crème Lipstick. Reportedly, it took about 3 years to formulate and perfect. They already have an existing range of lipsticks called the Colour Core Moisture Stain Lipsticks, but these new ones are reportedly super creamy and hydrating, with full opaque coverage in a single layer.

I got my first taste of the Hydra-Crème Lipsticks with the first month of the Le Métier de Beauté Beauty Vault VIP box, in which they included a “secret, mystery lipstick” encased in the regular Colour Core Moisture Stain lipstick packaging, shipped out with no name. It was a beautiful red called “Signature/Signature Red,” as we later learn soon enough. Here are a few pictures, but I’ve reviewed it here.

The formula was fantastic, truly one of the creamiest matte lipsticks I’ve ever encountered. Fast forward to today, and I have in my hands two fairly nude shades from the line, Cashmere and Sahara.

To differentiate this range from the original LMdB lipsticks, they’ve switched up the packaging to a lightweight metallic plastic, similar to some of their non-black Kaleidoscopes and other packaging. I prefer the original packaging.

Cashmere is a “beige rose,” which is a pretty accurate color description. My mind settled on “mauve” at first, but this is definitely the lovechild of beige and rose. I didn’t know if this color would suit me, but I surprisingly really loved how it looked on me when I first put it on.

I quite like how it looks, despite it appearing rather cool-toned. I think this is a shade I never imagined myself wearing or thinking I look good in. The lipstick applies really easily, though unlike Signature Red, it is not matte and has quite the same finish as the MAC Lustre Lipsticks though with the fuller coverage of the MAC Satin Lipsticks.

The wear is pretty decent, and the amazing thing is reapplication is pretty awesome and not at all disgusting and gunky, as it happens with other similar lipsticks.

My next shade is Sahara, which is a “sandy coral nude.” It doesn’t look that far off from Cashmere, but they swatch quite differently, and look not-so-similar when beside each other:

L-R: Cashmere, Sahara

It’s quite a bit warmer than Cashmere, and I don’t know which I like better!

Anyway, I’m extremely happy with both shades, even if they look pretty similar. It’s a little hard for me to pull off nudes, and it’s hard to find one that works for me. But, I’m happy both of these shades do work (I feel like anyway), despite being quite light. I mean, I don’t think either looks like concealer lips!

I love these lipsticks and how plush they make my lips look and feel. I would absolutely love to get more shades, as the texture and formula are superb and exceptional. I have my eye on three shades, namely Rose Garnet, Breathless, and Morocco. My choices are based on online colors and not actual swatches, which has deterred me from actually purchasing them so far. These are $25 a pop—by no means cheap—but I actually do love them enough to get more shades. I’d get these over Chanel and Guerlain, any day.

Comparatively, I think I prefer this new formula of lipsticks from Le Métier de Beauté, though I love the color range of the True Colour Moisture Stain line. The latter is also a good formula, but these Hydra-Crème ones are so easy to apply, wear, and reapply. Such an agreeable formula, I’m so impressed.

Have you tried this new range by Le Métier de Beauté? What do you think?

Le Métier de Beauté is cruelty-free.

Quickie: Ellana Minerals Makeup Brush Cleaner*

Published by Carina

Here’s a quick post on what is easily becoming one of my favorite makeup “tools,” the Ellana Minerals Makeup Brush Cleaner.* I got this from the generous people at Ellana Minerals, during their brand re-launch.

A little backstory: I’ve used up my last spot cleaner, but haven’t been on the prowl for a replacement, so I’ve been deep cleaning my brushes every once in a while. I noticed some of my brushes—particularly the MAC 217—were feeling dry and some of the hair would break off. I assumed it was the alcohol in the other brush cleaner, so I stopped using it, but then it would be such a hassle to deep clean all the brushes every time they got dirty.

So this is kind of a godsend for me.

The first thing I noticed was that there was no “cooling effect” that alcohol-based spot cleaners have. I checked out the ingredients, and lo—there was no alcohol… But what did they use to clean the brushes and disinfect them? Here are the ingredients of this product:

— Cyclopentasiloxane — a type of silicone that’s typically used for hair conditioning.
— Tea Tree Extracts — traditionally used as a topical antiseptic and antifungal treatment.
— Triclosan — this is a controversial ingredient these days (it absorbs into the bloodstream upon contact, apparently), but it is an antibacterial and antifungal agent.
— Fragrance (Cucumber Melon!)
— Phenoxyethanol — a bactericide or disinfectant.

I have to look into these ingredients more, but I appreciate the immediate, good first impression and results of this product, generally. I find that it takes a while for the formula to actually break down some of the darker, richer pigments, though it does get there eventually. 🙂 I feel like my brushes are better protected and taken care of.

RE: the ingredients list that I can’t pronounce—I am a little more lenient with this because it’s for use with tools and not on my actual face, but there. We shall see how this works out long-term.

* PR Sample. Ellana Minerals is a cruelty-free company.

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Latest Posts

Nosy Beauty Vol. 20: Kine

Swatchfest: My First Oslo Cosmetics Order

Le Métier de Beauté True Colour Eye Shadows in Corinthian, Midnight Sky & Noir

FOTD: Golden Brown and Toasted

Revlon Beauty S.O.S. on ETC’s Etcetera

Le Métier de Beauté Hydra-Crème Lipsticks

Quickie: Ellana Minerals Makeup Brush Cleaner*

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